McDermott takes a stand against Christmas

The Big Blog would like to come out and publicly say that we recognize the importance of Christmas.

Moreover, we also recognize the importance of every celebration of any tradition (religious or secular in origin, it matters not) that gets us days off while paying homage to the spirit of giving, feasting, family and football. But nobody voted us into Congress, which for some unexplained reason decided it needed to take a vote on the matter this week.

So what the heck is up with jolly old Rep. Jim McDermott, now being targeted as the Grinch who turned thumbs down on Christmas for all the nation to see?

With a beard and a red hat, Jim McDermott would be a dead ringer for Santa.

As P-I reporter John Iwasaki notes in a Page One story in Thursday’s P-I, the Seattle-area Democrat (who would look pretty good in a Santa suit in his old age) supported House resolutions this fall to recognize the Islamic holiday of Ramadan and the festival of Diwali, celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains.

But McDermott voted Tuesday against the resolution to recognize the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith. The resolution passed 372-9.

McDermott couldn’t be contacted to explain why he took his stand with eight other Democrats against Christmas and all, but a staff member told Iwaskai: “If you know the congressman, you’d know why” he opposed the resolution.

Maybe McDermott was opposed to the part of the resolution that stated Christianity was the predominant faith in the U.S. and contributed greatly to the development of Western civilization and America.

But then again, The Big Blog did some quick research and discovered that McDermott graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois, which is a Christian-based liberal arts school. Its motto is, “For Christ and His Kingdom.”

Maybe he was influenced by the Port of Seattle’s epic “holiday” decoration controversy of the past year.

Maybe he plans to give up his Christmas vacation this year to work through the holiday to help secure federal funding for flood victims in this state.